Mechanical handwriting quality control method

ABSTRACT

The invention comprises an apparatus and method of use thereof for processing a machine produced emulated handwritten document prepared on a marking surface, comprising the steps of: receiving a print job order; digitally generating a reference image of the print job order; machine plotting with a plotting pen and a downward force of one-half to forty ounces applied to said plotting pen an indentation trail to form input text on the marking surface; digitally imaging the input text on the marking surface to form an actual image; and in a quality control step, digitally comparing the reference image to the actual image prior to insertion of the print job order into an envelope.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 17/170,844 filed Feb. 8, 2021, which is a divisional of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 16/128,828 filed Sep. 12, 2018, all of whichis incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference thereto.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The invention relates generally to a handwritten card method andapparatus.

Discussion of the Prior Art

Patents related to the current invention are summarized here.

Loeb, Michael R., “Realistic Machine-Generated Handwriting withPersonalized Fonts”, U.S. Pat. No. 7,352,899 (Apr. 1, 2008) describes asystem for producing machine generated handwriting having a realistichuman appearance using a scanned representation of a person'shandwriting.

Problem

There exists in the art a need for a personalized appearance of amachine generated printed and/or plotted document.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention comprises an automated mechanical handwriting system forplotting on documents, such as greeting cards, stickers, notes, and/orstationery, using a real pen or pen-like device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

A more complete understanding of the present invention is derived byreferring to the detailed description and claims when considered inconnection with the Figures, wherein like reference numbers refer tosimilar items throughout the Figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates a handwriting generation system;

FIG. 2 illustrates a plotter system and a paper feeder system;

FIG. 3 illustrates a multi-section plotting system;

FIG. 4 illustrates a pressure applicator/feeder avoidance system;

FIG. 5 illustrates a print process;

FIG. 6 illustrates a printing manifest;

FIG. 7 illustrates a quality control procedure; and

FIG. 8A illustrates a signature, FIG. 8B illustrates a graphic symbol,FIG. 8C illustrates a doodle, and FIG. 8D illustrates a printed card;and

FIG. 9 illustrates a light box.

Elements and steps in the figures are illustrated for simplicity andclarity and have not necessarily been rendered according to anyparticular sequence. For example, steps that are performed concurrentlyor in different order are illustrated in the figures to help improveunderstanding of embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention comprises an apparatus and method of use thereof forprocessing a machine produced emulated handwritten document prepared ona marking surface, comprising the steps of: receiving a print job order;digitally generating a reference image of the print job order; machineplotting with a plotting pen and a downward force of one-half to fortyounces applied to said plotting pen an indentation trail to form inputtext on the marking surface; digitally imaging the input text on themarking surface to form an actual image; and in a quality control step,digitally comparing the reference image to the actual image prior toinsertion of the print job order into an envelope.

The invention comprises a mechanical handwriting system linked to a userinput system to generate a plotted document, such as a greeting card ornote, using a conveyor belt unit to support and move the document, aplotter, and a series of rollers to position and constrain movement ofthe document, which is optionally and preferably linked to a paperfeeder system in an assembly line format, where the rollers areoptionally and preferably adjustable in position to accommodate varyingpaper sizes and to allow movement of the document during a plottingperiod to avoid positional overlap constraints of the rollers and aplotter head of the plotter in a process of plotting the card insections, where the plotted document optionally and preferably containsan indentation trail emulating a downward force of a human hand writingon a deformable surface, such as a pad of paper.

Herein, an x-axis and a y-axis define a plane perpendicular to a z-axis,where the z-axis is optionally and preferably aligned with gravity.

Mechanical Handwriting System

Referring now to FIG. 1, a mechanical handwriting system 100 isdescribed. Generally, the mechanical handwriting system 100 is used togenerate a printed and/or preferably plotted document, such as a notecard and/or a greeting card. For example, the mechanical handwritingsystem 100 comprises a system using mechanical means to emulate ahandwritten card. The mechanical handwriting system 100 comprises a maincontroller 110 that:

-   -   receives and/or controls a paper specification input system 120,        such as input specifying a desired appearance of a handwritten        card;    -   controls a paper movement system 130;    -   controls a plotter system 140; and/or    -   controls a paper feeder system 150,        where an output of the mechanical handwriting system 100        comprises a printed and preferably plotted output document, such        as a note, handwritten card, and/or a handwritten document 160.        For clarity of presentation and without loss of generality a        handwritten card as the plotted output/document is used as an        example of the handwritten document 160. However, it is        recognized that the plotted output optionally comprises: (1) any        graphic, symbol, and/or text and/or (2) output plotted on any        substrate, paper, and/or high quality paper, such as in the form        of a decorated card, a greeting card, a sympathy card, a card        expressing a sentiment, and/or a foldable card plotted on a        front side, a back side, and/or a front and back side.

For clarity of presentation and without loss of generality, examples ofthe paper/card specification input system 120, the paper movement system130, the plotter system 140, the paper feeder system 150, and theplotted output, such as the handwritten document 160, are provided,infra, to further describe the mechanical handwriting system 100.

Main Controller

Referring still to FIG. 1, the main controller 110 is further described.The main controller 110, a localized communication apparatus, and/or asystem for communication of information optionally comprises one or moresubsystems stored on a client. The client is a computing platformconfigured to act as a client device or other computing device, such asa computer, personal computer, a digital media device, and/or a personaldigital assistant. The client comprises a processor that is optionallycoupled to one or more internal or external input devices, such as amouse, a keyboard, a display device, network input, a voice recognitionsystem, a motion recognition system, or the like. Optionally andpreferably, the processor of the main controller 110 is directly linked,wirelessly linked, and/or linked via the internet to a database or dataentry system, such as the paper/card specification input system 120,further described infra. The processor is also communicatively coupledto an output device, such as a display screen or data link to display orsend data and/or processed information, respectively. Optionally andpreferably, the output device is a plotter system or a handwritten cardsystem 200, further described infra. In one embodiment, thecommunication apparatus is the processor. In another embodiment, thecommunication apparatus is a set of instructions stored in memory thatis carried out by the processor.

Referring still to FIG. 1, in one example the main controller 110receives/transforms data from the paper/card specification input system120 and controls: the paper movement system 130; the plotter system 140;the paper feeder system 150 and sub-components of each of the threesystems in generation of the handwritten document 160.

Paper/Card Specification Input System

Referring still to FIG. 1, the paper/card specification input system 120is further described. Generally, the paper/card specification inputsystem 120 comprises any means to transfer input, such as from a clientor user, into a digital format. For example, the paper/cardspecification input system 120 comprises a web page, where a userselects and/or inputs a desired input of a plotted document, such as agraphic, a symbol, font, and/or text. Optionally and preferably, thepaper/card specification input system 120, such as the web page, allowsthe user to additionally select/define the format and/or relativepositions of the graphic, symbol, font, or text.

Handwriting Generation System

For clarity of presentation and without loss of generating, referringnow to FIGS. 2-4, a handwritten card system 200 is described, which isan example of the mechanical handwriting system 100. The handwrittencard system 200 is linked to the main controller 110.

Paper Movement System

Referring still to FIG. 1 and referring now to FIG. 2, a paperpositioning system 210 is described, which is an example of the papermovement system 130. The paper positioning system 210 comprises: a baseunit 212, such as a unit placed onto a table; a first side rail 214 anda second side rail 216 on opposite sides of the base unit 212; and aconveyor belt system 220 positioned between the first side rail 214 andthe second side rail 216, where the first and second side rails 214, 216optionally and preferably support the conveyor belt system 220. Theconveyor belt system 220 is functionally used to support and move amarking surface or a piece of paper 230, such as the greeting card ornote, along a y-axis. A conveyor belt 222 of the conveyor belt system220 rolls around conveyor belt wheels 223 driven by a motor orequivalent. Optionally, the conveyor belt 222 has a gap 221 between theconveyor belt 222 and the first and second side rails 214, 216. Aplotter 280, further described infra, plots the graphic, symbol, and/ortext with an associated font on the paper 230 supported underneath bythe conveyor belt system 220.

Still referring to FIG. 2, the paper positioning system 210 optionallyand preferably comprises a set of rollers 240, such as a first set ofrollers 242 and a second set of rollers 244. As illustrated, each memberof the first set of rollers are connected to a first intermediate rail218, where the first intermediate rail 218 moves along the x-axisrelative to the first side rail 214 and the second side rail 216 usingone or more roller positioning guides 250, such as a first positioningrail 252 and a second positioning rail 254, where the positioning guidesare optionally and preferably: (1) attached to the first intermediaterail 218 and (2) slide through the first and second side rails 214, 216.Mechanical means, not illustrated for clarity of presentation, connectedto the main controller 110 and used to slide the first intermediate rail218 along the x-axis, which allows the first set of rollers to bepositioned over the paper 230, such as an outer edge of the paper 230,for a variety of paper sizes. Members of a second set of rollers 244 areoptionally attached to the second side wall 216 and/or to a secondintermediate rail, not illustrated for clarity of presentation, whereeach intermediate rail is positioned between the first and second siderails 214, 216 using one or more of the roller positioning guides. Thefirst and second set of rollers 242, 244 are used to provide a downwardforce on the paper 230, which aids in restricting movement of the paper230 when using the plotter 280 to mark on the paper 230 using the tip ofa marking pen or a plotter pen 286. The downward force applied by thefirst and second set of rollers 242, 244 on the paper 230 also aids inpositioning the paper 230 along the y-axis using movement of a conveyorbelt of the conveyor belt system 220.

Still referring to FIG. 2, as a unit the paper positioning system 210and the plotter 280, under control of the main controller 110 plot onthe paper 230 the design/text/font provided by the paper/cardspecification input system 120.

Plotter System

Still referring to FIG. 2, a plotter 280, which comprises a component ofthe plotter system 140, prints and/or plots the graphic, symbol, and/ortext and associated font on the paper 230 supported underneath by theconveyor belt system 220. The plotter 280 comprises a plotter arm 282,which is movable under control of the main controller 110 along thez-axis into or out of a plotting position and along the x/y-plane inplotting mode or to a plotting position. The plotter uses a connector284 to position a marking pen, a traditional pen, plotting pen, and/or aplotter pen 286 comprising a pen tip into contact with the paper 230.The plotter system 140 is optionally and preferably configured withmultiple marking elements, which comprise selectable tip sizes,selectable tip shapes, and/or selectable ink color. Optionally andpreferably, the downforce on the pen is one to twelve ounces and morepreferably greater than three and less than nine ounces. The downforceincludes the weight of the pen, weight of a weighted pen, and/or anapplied force, such as a spring force acting on the marking pen and/orplotter arm 282.

Handwritten Marking Indentation

A handwritten note by a person typically leaves an indentation trailunder the handwritten text, due to the applied pressure of the userwriting with a pen on a surface that yields, such as a pad of paper,blotter, backboard, or wood desk. Still referring to FIG. 2, thehandwritten card system 200 optionally and preferably mimics theindentation of a person handwriting and leaving marking indentations onpaper using a combination of properties of the conveyor belt 222 and theplotter 280. More particularly, the conveyor belt 222 comprises amaterial designed to yield under pressure of the plotter pen 286 of theplotter system 280 to a degree that yields a handwritten pressure trailunder the handwritten elements made by the marking pen or plotter pen286. For example, the conveyor belt 222 comprises a thin belt ofpolyurethane, which is a soft material that, in combination with theabove described downward force of the pen of about six ounces leavesmarking indentations and/or a marking trail that mimics the indentationtrail of a personally written note on a pad of paper that yields underthe applied force of a pen. The polyurethane belt additionally hasfriction properties that aids, such as in combination with the set ofrollers 240 and/or the downward force of the marking pen, in holding thepaper or greeting card in place while the conveyor belt 222 moves and/orthe plotter 280 operates. The indentation trail, on the markingdocument, backed by said deformable surface using said downward force ofsaid plotting pen is optionally and preferably greater than 0.01, 0.1,1, 2, 3, 5, or 7 micrometers deep and/or less than 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50,or 100 micrometers deep, relative to an upper plane of a marking side ofthe marking document or paper. The indentation trail, trough, orchannel, is optionally and preferably continuous through a plottingstroke, such as the downstroke of the letter “S”, described infra, whilewithin a plotting stroke, the depth is optionally non-uniform, such asdeeper at an initial contact point of the marking pen and a surface ofthe marking document.

Maintenance

Still referring to FIG. 2, a standard ink refill cartridge is optionallyand preferably used as the pigment source inside a housing of themarking pen or plotter pen 286. Optionally, the main controller 110maintains a total distance that the pen has marked and directs areplacement cartridge installation after a set distance, such as 1000,2000, 4000, 6000, or more feet based on the ink cartridge capacity.

Paper Feeder System

Referring again to FIG. 1 and still referring to FIG. 2, the paper feedsystem 150 is further described. For clarity of presentation and withoutloss of generality, a paper feed assembly 290 is provided as an exampleof the paper feed system 150, which is connected to the paperpositioning system 210 during use to automatically feed a next substrateunit, such as a piece of paper to the conveyor belt 222. The paper feedassembly 290 optionally and preferably comprises a base unit 291 and/oran end unit 292, which separates a first edge rail 294 and a second edgerail 296. Similar to the first intermediate rail 218, first set ofrollers 242, and second set of rollers 244 of the paper positioningsystem 210, the paper feed assembly 290 uses a second intermediate rail298, third set of rollers 246, and fourth set of rollers 248 to move,under control of the main controller 110, a new feed sheet 260 onto theconveyor belt 222 to become a new paper 230, such as for production of anew handwritten document 160. Similar to the movement of the firstintermediate rail 218 with movement of the first and second positioningrails 252, 254, the second intermediate rail 298 moves with a thirdpositioning rail 256 and a fourth positioning rail 258 relative to thefirst edge rail 294 and the second edge rail 296. Movement of the secondintermediate rail 298, optionally under control of the main controller110, moves the third set of rollers 246 relative to the fourth set ofrollers 248, which allows each new feed sheet 260 to be of any dimensionfitting between the first edge rail 294 and the second edge rail 296.Optionally and preferably, the paper feed assembly 290 is parallel tothe paper positioning system 210 in terms of the x-axis and the baseunit 291 is set at a downward angle along a y/z-plane to facilitatemovement of the new feed sheet 260 to the conveyor belt 222 of the paperpositioning system 210.

Plotting

Referring now to FIG. 3, for clarity of presentation and without loss ofgenerality an example of printing or preferably plotting the handwrittendocument 160 is described. At a first time, t₁, a first plot section 232of a greeting card, an example of the paper 230, is plotted. Asillustrated, the plotter arm 282 can freely move over the first plotsection 232. However, with the paper 230 in a first illustrated positionat the first time, t₁, the plotter arm 282 is impeded by members of thefirst set of rollers 242 when trying to plot a second plot section 234.At a second time, t₂, the main controller 110, through control of theconveyor belt 222, has moved the paper 230 to a second position wherethe plotter arm 282 can freely move over the entire second plot section234. Generally, any number of plot sections are used, such as n plotsections, where n is a positive integer, such as greater than 1, 2, 3,4, 5, 6, 8, or 10.

Referring again to FIG. 2 and referring still to FIG. 3, the set ofrollers 240 are further described. Any of the members of the first setof rollers 242 are repositionable in grooves in the first intermediaterail 218, which allows a variable first distance, d₁, between a firstand second member of the first set of rollers 242. Similarly, any of themembers of the second set of rollers 244 are repositionable into slotsin the second side rail 216 allowing a second variable distance, d₂,between any two members of the second set of rollers 244. Notably, thefirst distance between rollers, d₁, is optionally less than, the sameas, or greater than the second distance between rollers, d₂. Generally,the variable position between rollers and the ability to plot thedocument, such as a greeting card, using 1, 2, 3, 4, or more plotsections, described supra, allows the plotter arm 282 to access anyportion of the paper 230.

Referring now to FIG. 4, another example of use of the mechanicalhandwriting system 100 is provided, which demonstrates plotting inmultiple plot sections at multiple plot times where the number of plotsections differs from the number of plot times. As illustrated, at afirst time, t₁, the plotter arm 282 is used to plot a first plot section232 and at a second time, t₂, the plotter arm 282 is used to plot both asecond plot section 234 and a third plot section 236. Generally, eachplot section is of any geometry; two plot sections are optionallynon-intersecting or intersecting; and multiple plot sections areoptionally and preferably used to avoid an interfering object, such asone or more rollers of the set of rollers 240.

Referring again to FIG. 3 and still referring to FIG. 4, as illustratedthe paper 230 is held in a given position on the conveyor belt 222 usingany combination of: friction of the polyurethane conveyor belt; downwardforce of the marking pen 286; any 1, 2, 3, or more rolling elements ofthe first set of rollers 242; and any 1, 2, 3, or more rolling elementsof the second set of rollers 244.

The inventor notes that modem fonts, such as TrueType® (Apple Inc.,Cupertino, Calif.); OpenType® (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Wash.);and PostScript® (Adobe Systems, Inc., San Jose, Calif.), which are usedin word processing programs, use an outline for each character/symbol torepresent each character/symbol, which starkly contrasts with an outputof the handwriting system 100, which uses single line representation ofcharacter strokes in each character, where the character strokes arewithin the modem font representation, such as down a centerline, along aleft edge, a right edge, or a modem font perimeter boundary for eachcharacter symbol. The inventor notes that by definition a font is anoutline and that the mechanical handwriting system 100 optionally andpreferably plots a representation of the font. For example, a font ofthe letter “S” is a downward curve from top to bottom and a separateupward curve from bottom to top of the “S”. However, the main controllerdirect the plotter 210 to only draw one of the two curves forming theletter “S”, a midline between the downward curve and the upper curve, orany non-outline representation of the “S”.

Print Processing

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, processing print jobs is described, suchas in terms of a quality control process.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a print process 500 is illustrated. Generally,an order is received 510 from a customer, such as via an internetportal. Typically, many orders are received, where each job requirescertain parameters to implement, such as a paper type, a paper size,and/or an envelope size. Optionally and preferably, the received orders510 are batched 520, such as in terms of a printing requirement. Forinstance, jobs are sorted in terms of a printer paper requirement, whichaids efficiency. Subsequently, the job(s) are printed 530, such as withthe mechanical handwriting system 100. For instance, letters are printed532 and/or envelopes are printed 534. The printed jobs 530 aresubsequently delivered 540 to an operator 550, such as a person assigneda task of checking and sending out orders. The operator 550 is alsooptionally and preferably provided a manifest 560, which describes printorders for delivery. An example of a manifest 600 is further described,infra. The operator 550 then checks and fills the order 570 in a qualitycontrol process, as further described infra.

Referring now to FIG. 6, an example of the manifest 600 is provided.Optionally and preferably, the manifest includes a computer readablecode 610, such as a bar code and/or a quick response (QR) code. Theprovided manifest 600 also contain an operator readable identificationcode 620. As further described infra, when the operator scans the QRcode, a computer prompts the operator for an identification code 620 onthe manifest 600 and then proceeds to assure that the correct print jobsare sent to the correct recipients. As to the manifest 600, optionallyand preferably, each identification code 620 is associated with amessage 630, such as the printed letter 532; a from identifier 640, suchas the sender; a to identifier 650, such as a recipient address; anenvelope type 534; and an insert 660, such as a business card and/or agift card; and/or a requirement, such as use of an international stamp.

Quality Control

Referring now to FIGS. 7, 8(A-D), and 9, generally, a quality controlprocess is implemented to ensure that the correct print job is sent tothe correct recipient. The quality control process could simply bematching an address on the printed letter to an address on the envelopeand/or manually checking the original received order 510 with theprinted result 530 before mailing the order. For clarity of presentationand without loss of generality, examples are used to further describethe quality control process.

Example I

Referring now to FIG. 7 and FIG. 9, an example of a quality controlprocess 700 is illustrated, which is an optional process associated withthe check and fill order step 570. In this example, the operator 550uses the manifest 600 to validate the filled order 570 matches thereceived order 510. Particularly, the operator 550 scans 710 the QRcode, such as with an imaging system 900, such as a light box 910,described infra. Based on the scanned QR code, a computer 950 associatedwith the light box 910 prompts the operator 550 for a job identification620 on the manifest 600, such as job #1, job #2, job #3, . . . , job #n,where n is an alphanumeric character. The computer 950 then loads anordered graphic 720, such as a reference scalable vector graphic, wherethe ordered graphic 720 represents a particular mailing of the receivedorder 510, such as job #n. Referring now to FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, theordered graphic optionally includes a specialized graphic, such as asignature 810, a symbol 820, and/or a doodle 830. Optionally, thesignature 810, the symbol 820, and/or the doodle 830 is programmed tochange on subsequent mailings to the same address and/or on multiplemailings to the same or similar address. Notably, the signature 810, thesymbol 820, and/or the doodle 830 are optionally graphics that are notrecognizable to standard optical character recognition software.Referring again to FIGS. 7 and 9, the computer 950 then prompts theoperator 550 to scan the “written document” 740 printed by themechanical handwriting system 100. The scanned written document is atleast temporarily stored in a form representing the generated printedgraphic or the actual printed graphic, such as an actual scalable vectorgraphic. Subsequently, the computer 950 compares 750 the referencescalable vector graphic with the actual scalable vector graphic todetermine if the actual printed document matches the ordered text. Inthe comparison of the reference scalable vector graphic with the actualscalable vector graphic, one or both of the reference and actualscalable vectors graphics are optionally and preferably reformatted,such as resized with a sizing function, rotated with a rotationfunction, and/or light normalized with a light normalization function toaid comparison of the reference scalable vector graphic with the actualscalable vector graphic representing the printed order. An approval step760 follows, which is further described infra. If approved, the computer950 indicates approval to the operator 550 and instructs the operator todistribute the documents 770, such as via mail/post/carrier/courierdelivery. Optionally, the computer 950 at this time prompts the operatorto insert into the envelope 534 an insert, such as a business cardand/or an advertisement, and/or to apply postage to the envelope, suchas an international stamp.

Example II

In this second example, the quality control process 700 is furtherdescribed for an exemplary print job. As in the previous example, theoperator 550 scans the manifest 600 and the computer 950 links the QRcode to a print job 620. The computer loads the ordered graphic 720 andnow prompts the operator 550 to scan the “written” document(s) 740printed by the mechanical handwriting system 100. Referring to FIG. 9,the operator 550 places the print job 620, such as a printed document930 into a light box equipped with lighting 940, such as LED stripsand/or light bulbs, and a digital camera 920. The lighting lights theprinted document 930 and the operator 550 operates the camera 920, suchas through a foot pedal. The scanned image of the “written” document isnow compared with the ordered graphic 720, as further described herein.

Referring now to FIGS. 8(A-D), in this example, the “written” documentis illustrated in FIG. 8D as a handwritten job 533. As illustrated, thehandwritten job 533 includes text 840, such as a first grouping ofletters 841, a second grouping of letters 842, and a third grouping ofletters 843; a signature 810, with a first name 812 and a last name 814;a symbol 820, a smiley face; and a doodle 830, a sailboat. In thecomparison of the ordered graphic 720 and the “written” document,groupings are compared. For instance, referring now to FIG. 8A, thesignature 810 is illustrated as a first grouping 812 and a secondgrouping 814, where the groupings are identified by the computer basedon a blank space between written groupings, where the blank space has alength of greater than 1, 2, 5, or 10% the length of a grouping. In thecomparison of the ordered and written documents, graphicalrepresentations are compared. Particularly, the reference scalablevector graphic of the first grouping is compared with the actualscalable vector graphic of the first grouping. This eliminates theproblematic optical character recognition problem of decipheringalphabet characters of a scribbled and often totally undecipherablehandwritten signature. In this case, the signature 810 is determined,through use of blank space separating written sections, to have a secondgrouping 814. In the quality control process 700, the reference andactual scalable vector graphics of the second grouping are optionallyand preferably compared. Similarly, referring now to FIG. 8B, the symbol820 of the smiley face is stored as a reference scalable vector graphicand is compared with the actual written scalable vector graphic, such asin a third grouping comparison, in the quality control process 700.Similarly, referring now to FIG. 8C, the doodle 830 of the sailing shipis stored as a reference scalable vector graphic and is compared withthe actual written scalable vector graphic, such as in a fourth groupingcomparison, in the quality control process 700. Similarly, referring nowto FIG. 8D, the text 840 is stored as a reference scalable vectorgraphic and is compared with the actual written scalable vector graphic,such as in a fifth grouping comparison, in the quality control process700. For instance a first text grouping 841, a second text grouping 842,and/or a third text grouping 843 are compared with correspondingreference text groupings in the quality control process. Since vectorgraphics are compared, it does not matter if the text is in Englishand/or if the text contains a made up word or a copyrightedword/phrase/slogan, such as “handwrytten”. This allows and operator toverify the text even if the operator reads a language different from thewritten text. Generally, the received order is saved and representedwith a set of n groupings, referred to as the order, the referenceorder, the reference graphic, and/or the reference scalable vectorgraphics, where each group of the n groupings are compared, such as in a1:1 comparison, with a corresponding group of n groupings of thegenerated document, the printed document, and/or the “handwritten”document generated by the mechanical handwriting system 100, such as theprinted scalable document imaged in the light box 910. In the qualitycontrol process 700, not all groupings need to be compared to confirmthe print job matches the order, but preferably greater than 0, 1, 2, 3,5, 10, or 20 groupings are compared.

The quality control process 700 optionally and preferably prompts forinsertion of each “written” document of a job into the light box 910 forimaging and comparison. For instance, the system optionally andpreferably prompts for an envelope with “written” text on it, generatedby the mechanical handwriting system 100, to be inserted into the lightbox 910 for imaging and comparison before or after the correspondingtext/letter print job for insertion into the envelope is imaged andcompared. At this time, the computer 950, optionally and preferablyprompts the operator 550 to insert an insert into the envelope, such asa gift card, and/or to apply specialized postage to the envelope, suchas an international stamp.

Still yet another embodiment includes any combination and/or permutationof any of the elements described herein.

The main controller client includes a computer-readable storage medium,such as memory. The memory includes, but is not limited to, anelectronic, optical, magnetic, or another storage or transmission datastorage medium capable of coupling to a processor, such as a processorin communication with a touch-sensitive input device linked tocomputer-readable instructions. Other examples of suitable mediainclude, for example, a flash drive, a CD-ROM, read only memory (ROM),random access memory (RAM), an application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC), a DVD, magnetic disk, an optical disk, and/or a memory chip. Theprocessor executes a set of computer-executable program codeinstructions stored in the memory. The instructions may comprise codefrom any computer-programming language, including, for example, Coriginally of Bell Laboratories, C++, C#, Visual Basic® (Microsoft,Redmond, Wash.), Matlab® (MathWorks, Natick, Mass.), Java® (OracleCorporation, Redwood City, Calif.), and JavaScript® (Oracle Corporation,Redwood City, Calif.).

Herein, any number, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, is optionally more than thenumber, less than the number, or within 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, or 50 percentof the number.

Herein, an element and/or object is optionally manually and/ormechanically moved, such as along a guiding element, with a motor,and/or under control of the main controller.

The particular implementations shown and described are illustrative ofthe invention and its best mode and are not intended to otherwise limitthe scope of the present invention in any way. Indeed, for the sake ofbrevity, conventional manufacturing, connection, preparation, and otherfunctional aspects of the system may not be described in detail.Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures areintended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physicalcouplings between the various elements. Many alternative or additionalfunctional relationships or physical connections may be present in apractical system.

In the foregoing description, the invention has been described withreference to specific exemplary embodiments; however, it will beappreciated that various modifications and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention as set forth herein.The description and figures are to be regarded in an illustrativemanner, rather than a restrictive one and all such modifications areintended to be included within the scope of the present invention.Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined by thegeneric embodiments described herein and their legal equivalents ratherthan by merely the specific examples described above. For example, thesteps recited in any method or process embodiment may be executed in anyorder and are not limited to the explicit order presented in thespecific examples. Additionally, the components and/or elements recitedin any apparatus embodiment may be assembled or otherwise operationallyconfigured in a variety of permutations to produce substantially thesame result as the present invention and are accordingly not limited tothe specific configuration recited in the specific examples.

Benefits, other advantages and solutions to problems have been describedabove with regard to particular embodiments; however, any benefit,advantage, solution to problems or any element that may cause anyparticular benefit, advantage or solution to occur or to become morepronounced are not to be construed as critical, required or essentialfeatures or components.

As used herein, the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any variationthereof, are intended to reference a non-exclusive inclusion, such thata process, method, article, composition or apparatus that comprises alist of elements does not include only those elements recited, but mayalso include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to suchprocess, method, article, composition or apparatus. Other combinationsand/or modifications of the above-described structures, arrangements,applications, proportions, elements, materials or components used in thepractice of the present invention, in addition to those not specificallyrecited, may be varied or otherwise particularly adapted to specificenvironments, manufacturing specifications, design parameters or otheroperating requirements without departing from the general principles ofthe same.

Although the invention has been described herein with reference tocertain preferred embodiments, one skilled in the art will readilyappreciate that other applications may be substituted for those setforth herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. Accordingly, the invention should only be limited by theClaims included below.

1. A method for processing a machine produced emulated handwrittendocument prepared on a marking surface, comprising the steps of:receiving a print job order; digitally generating a reference image ofthe print job order; machine plotting with a plotting pen and a downwardforce of one-half to forty ounces applied to said plotting pen anindentation trail to form input text on the marking surface; digitallyimaging the input text on the marking surface to form an actual image;and in a quality control step, digitally comparing the reference imageto the actual image prior to insertion of the print job order into anenvelope.
 2. The method of claim 1, said step of machine plottingfurther comprising the steps of: generating a first mechanicallyproduced handwritten document on stationary; and generating a secondmechanically produced handwritten document on an envelope.
 3. The methodof claim 2, further comprising the step of: confirming that a computerreadable code matches, for a single print job, a first digital image ofsaid first mechanically produced handwritten document to a seconddigital image of said second mechanically produced handwritten document.4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: digitallypresenting a message to generate a set of images corresponding to a setof at least two documents corresponding to a human readable job number;and digitally confirming that elements of said set of images correspondto the print job order.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising thesteps of: said step of digitally generating further comprising the stepof saving the reference image as a reference scalable vector graphicfile; and said step of digitally imaging further comprising the step ofsaving the actual image as an actual scalable vector graphic file. 6.The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of: comparing atleast a first positional grouping of the reference scalable vectorgraphic file to the actual scalable vector graphic file; and comparingat least a second positional grouping of the reference scalable vectorgraphic file to the actual scalable vector graphic file.
 7. The methodof claim 6, said first positional grouping comprising at least one of: asignature; and a doodle.
 8. The method of claim 6, said first positionalgrouping comprising at least one of: a misspelled word; and a trademark.9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of: generatingsaid downward force through a combination of a downward spring forceapplied to said plotting pen and a weight of said plotting pen.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, further comprising the step of: backing the markingsurface with a conveyor belt, said conveyor belt comprising a deformablesurface.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of:deforming said conveyor belt sufficiently under the one-half to fortyounces of downward force to form said indentation trail corresponding toa line representation of the input text, said indentation trailemulating hand written indentation on a notepad.
 12. The method of claim1, further comprising the steps of: said step of machine plottingfurther comprising the step of generating a mechanically producedhandwritten document; and moving the mechanically produced handwrittendocument through movement of a conveyor belt to at least a secondplotting position during said step of generating the mechanicallyproduced handwritten document.
 13. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising the step of: maintaining, with a set of rollers, a positionof the mechanically produced handwritten document relative to a contactsurface area of said conveyor belt during said step of moving.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising the step of: feeding a new sheetonto said conveyor belt using a mechanical paper feeder.
 15. The methodof claim 14, further comprising the step of: repositioning with a motorat least one member of said set of rollers to accommodate a change ofsize between the new sheet and a previous sheet.
 16. The method of claim1, said step of digitally generating the reference order furthercomprising the steps of: converting a requested text in a traditionaloutline font to a line representation of the traditional outline font.17. The method of claim 1, said step of digitally generating furthercomprising the step of: generating a line representation of the font ofeach element of a text string of the print job order.